Poland has begun to enforce a ban on Russian-registered passenger cars, as the Kremlin threatened to cut diplomatic ties with Brussels.
Several Russian journalists on Monday published photos of Gen. Sergei Surovikin, the commander known as “General Armageddon” for his aggressive tactics who has not been seen in public since Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin launched his ill-fated mutiny in June.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin’s fatal plane crash might have been caused on purpose, but Russia will not allow an investigation measuring up to international standards to discover the truth.
Ukrainian political and religious leaders have objected strongly to a speech by Pope Francis exalting Russian history.
Vladimir Putin signed a decree requiring paramilitary fighters in “volunteer formations” to swear an oath of allegiance to the Russian flag.
The Kremlin on Thursday dismissed Western suggestions Wagner Group warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin had been murdered on its orders in a plane crash as an “absolute lie” while adding confirmation of his death is dependent on test results.
Russia accused Ukraine of launching a drone attack on Moscow early Monday that saw one of the aircraft fall near the Defense Ministry.
A top spokesman for Russian leader Vladimir Putin confirmed on Monday that the strongman met with the head of the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC), Yevgeny Prigozhin, on June 29, five days after Prigozhin led thousands of his soldiers in an abruptly halted mutiny against the Russian military.
Russians living in over 100 cities around the world held demonstrations on Sunday to support jailed dissident Alexei Navalny on his birthday. It was Navalny’s third birthday since he narrowly survived an assassination attempt in Siberia, recuperated in Germany, and was thrown in prison upon arriving back in Moscow.
Yevgeny Prigozhin said Wagner is not capable of staging a coup against the Kremlin, following speculation that he may seek to overthrow and replace Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine denied responsibility after fighting broke out in Russia’s Belgorod region, saying it is the work of anti-Putin freedom fighters.
The car of prominent pro-Kremlin novelist Zakhar Prilepin exploded in Russia on Saturday, injuring him and killing his driver.
A “new level” of attack may be imminent after an alleged drone strike on the Kremlin — “the symbol of Russian power,” according to retired Army Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis, who warned of a major escalation that could determine the war’s outcome.
The Chinese Global Times government newspaper described the alleged drone attack on the Kremlin early Wednesday morning as the crossing of a “red line” in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine: the targeting of heads of state.
Top Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday that leader Vladimir Putin was “calm and collected” in the face of what Russia claimed to be a Ukrainian assassination attempt against the president.
Russia announced on Wednesday that security would be increased across Moscow, and Victory Day celebrations scaled back, due to the possibility of attacks by alleged Ukrainian saboteurs.
Russia says it prevented a drone strike on Kremlin, as dramatic video footage shows what they claimed to be a “terrorist attack”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the occupied Donetsk region of the eastern Donbass on Tuesday, meeting wounded soldiers and assessing the battleground situation after his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin revealed, had toured eastern Ukraine on Monday.
A top Kremlin foe was convicted Monday on charges of treason and denigrating the Russian military and sentenced him to 25 years.
Russia’s “high priority” to gaining ground near Donetsk, a British intelligence says, noting “minimal gains” despite “significant resources”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday refused to comment on the arrest of former President Donald Trump, ostensibly because doing so would constitute interference with America’s internal affairs. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, however, ventured that Trump’s arrest represented a “crisis of liberalism.”
Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s top spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that Putin and Chinese dictator Xi Jinping, departing Moscow after a friendly visit this week, did not discuss “the Ukrainian peace formula” in their hours of dialogue together.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin lavished praise on visiting Chinese dictator Xi Jinping on Monday as Xi began his visit to Moscow.
Russia is taking passports from “increasingly disaffected” officials to prevent them fleeing abroad, the British Ministry of Defence said.
Western sanctions against Moscow have insulated the Russian financial system from the banking crisis, the Kremlin claims to believe.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit the White House on Friday for a private meeting with President Joe Biden. The two will reportedly spend time alone together as both allies look to secure further weapons and funding for Ukraine while working on a joint plan to stymie any attempt by China to do the same in support of Russia.
The Kremlin on Friday confirmed a report that Russian President Vladimir Putin will give his long-delayed 2022 annual address to the Federal Assembly on February 21, 2023, a date chosen to coincide with the anniversary of his attack on Ukraine.
Moscow has slammed suggestions that the West should send fighter jets to Ukraine, labelling the idea that such a transfer of weapons might not escalate tensions “absurd”.
The Russian military on Monday claimed it was able to make advances against Ukrainian forces in the Kherson and Kursk regions.
The toll from a devastating strike was expected to rise past 40 as rescuers searched the rubble for 25 people still missing.
Military aid due to be sent from Western nations to Ukraine will only “prolong the suffering” of the country, Russia has warned.
Russia declared on Friday that it would observe a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine beginning at noon and lasting for 36 hours. Ukrainian, American, and European officials derided the announcement as a trick and artillery fire reportedly continued on the Ukrainian battlefield.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Ukraine and its western allies of trying to destroy his country late Monday night, demanding Kyiv accept Moscow’s prescription for ending the war or be “eliminated” on the battlefield.
The Kremlin confirmed on Monday that leader Vladimir Putin would not hold his traditional year-end press conference in December, suggesting it may instead occur in 2023 – the first time in a decade that Putin skips the occasion.
Italy´s most famous opera house opens Russia’s ‘Boris Godunov’ tonight, sparking protests and allegations of a propaganda win for the Kremlin.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday denied reports that up to 700,000 Russians have fled the country to avoid President Vladimir Putin’s military mobilization for the war in Ukraine. Peskov admitted there have been some hasty defections, but insisted the number was much lower.
The Russian Defense Ministry on Thursday announced its forces have withdrawn from Snake Island, which Russia occupied on the first day of its war against Ukraine.
The Biden White House announced on Monday that Russia defaulted on its international bonds for the first time in over a century, ostensibly because the pressure of international sanctions is crushing the Russian government financially.
Officials in Russian gas addict Germany appear to be beginning to sweat as the Kremlin turns down its supply to the country over what it describes as technical issues.
The chief spokesman for the Kremlin has admitted that Russia has incurred “significant” losses during Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
